Nail-assorting mechanism.



No.- 707,141. I

. c. c. SMALL.

' NAIL ASSURTINGMECHANISM. (Application led July Lf, 1898. Renewed Feb. 3, 1900.)

Patented Au`g. I9, |902.

(N0 Model.)

@ IIIIII direction.'

CHESTER C.- SMALL, VOF NEW'TON, MSSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BYMESNE ASSIGNMENTS, To THE UNITEDJsHoE PGRATION OE NEW JERSEY;

MACHINERY COMPANY, A `ooR-v N-AlL-Asso'efrlNe MEcHANlsM.

1 sPEcIFIcATioN 'forming part of` Letters Patent No. 707,'141,aated Angustia 1902.

Applicata@ medley 2, lesa/Renewed February 3,1900., seritiireaeej. monaten' VTo @ZZ whom, :it may concern:

4 Be it known that I, CnEsrrEEC. SMALL, of Newton, county of Middlesex,- State of Massaj chusetts, have inventedvan Improvement in 5 Nail-Assorting Mechanism, of which the folf lowing description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification,

y and being by a movement ofA said controller l zo all putin said pocketswiththeir heads stand? ing in the same direction, so that bya final circular or rotative movement ofsa con troller all saidnails maybe discharged from said pockets With their pointsall in thesa'me i In the mechanismjherein shown as embody# ing my present inventionI have done away with the circularly-moving nail -controlle r, and insteadof it I lemploy aithroat having a 3o series of nail-,passages to lead lthe nails atthe n p proper time into chutes or ,nail-conducting,

e tubes, therebeing one passage for eachraceway. The nails' on their arrival ati the end'of theA racewa'y meetan Varresting device or stop,

3 5 hereinrepresented as a notched slide-bar provided witha series of horizontally-extended greets. Each of these rests sustains oneen'd of a ,nail while its opposite end still rests on the raceway, and saidv arresting devicef'orstop isv 4o `moved to bring its notched'parts under Athe nails, permitting the head-ii-rst`nails-todrop bygravity each into a passage of the throat, the point-first nails entering 'the notches in the vstopIand-nieeting agage,rat which time the heads of those nails leave the raceway, and they immediatelyjdrop'headkfirst each into its proper, passage inthe throatfall the nails thus entering the throat head irst.A The series of notches in the stop are so located 5o thatwhen the stop occupies its lnormalposi-i is intended as an improvey tion the notches are outof line with the race-v `ways that supply the nailsand outof lin'e with thenail-reoeivinggrooves ofthe throat, the unnotched or plain' portions of 'said stop being at such time in line with theraceways tostop the nails -leafving the ends of the racevWays. The stop hasat its edge next the ends of the series of raceways a seriesof `horizontally-extended rests, said rests being 'sepa-y rated by suit-able spaces, reachl restst'anding 6o l when said stopis'in its normal positionin` line ,with the groovesat-theends of Ithe Arace- 4way and` at substantially` the level yof the bottoms of said grooves, so that rthepoints and heads of said nails arranged indiscrimin-` 6 5 l ately and leaving` said grooves pass over the rests andmeeting Vsaid stop lieA on .the rests. Now to` effect they discharge of .these nails A so sustained'l `with theirvheads and points arranged indiscriminately I ,slightly move 7o the stop longitudinally, causingthe reststo pass.- from under' allthe nails lyingthereon. The head-first nails immediately respond' to gravity and drop head'fu'st into the passages of the throat; but the point-first nailsremain p' with their heads yresting'on the raceways and ltheir points opposite notches biot the stop,

The ,point-first,:nails immediately slide intov said notches until they meet a gageso locatedA as'to permit the 'headset-those nails to leave 8o the raceway,when they,` also drop into the passagesof the throat head first.` "The gage pre-r e l vents the escape of; the nails rdirected.point first across saidthroat, and the saidgage will in practice be adjustediaccordingto thelength 5 of the nails used.,

, One part of "my,l invention therefore con-A sists 'inan arrestingdevice or Vstop adaptedf to arrest temporarily Ialseries (of nails Withy their heads `andpoints arranged indiscrimi-r' 9o nately, which, may be moved to effect the discharge of said nailswith their heads all in one. direction. f f

Other featuresofmyuin'vzentionyvillbehere- I inafter more particularly set forth and made E the subject of claims'at the end of this specia iication. z y

Figure 1 is a partial top orplanview of a nail-assorting mechanism embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a face view of the parts loo" shown in Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a left-hand end View of the parts shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4is a section in substantially the dotted line x, Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detail to be referred to. Fig. 6 is a detail showing part of the bar l).

In the drawings the framework A, the series of raceways cx, the lifter f, normally occupying a position in line with the raceway and provided with a series of grooves to correspond with the grooves of said raceways, the said lifter when in its normal lowered position receiving upon it the endmost nails of the series of nails in said raceways, the ends of the nails, whether heads or points leading, contacting with a shoulder fx; the rodf, connected with said lifter and surrounded by a springfs; the cam f2 to act on said rod and elevate said lifter, so that the series of nails held in its grooves may be lifted, the nails sliding therefrom through a series of grooves in the delivery end h of the said raceways, said delivery end being composed ofa bar having a series ofgrooves, one for each groove of the raceway, said bar being adj ustably sustained by a suitable adj listing-nut hm, so that it may be adjusted to the right or left, (viewing Fig. 4,) according to the length of the nail being used, are and may be all substantially as shown and described in United States Patent No. 577,213. The camf2 is fast on a shaft e, said shaft having upon its end which is broken o in Fig. 4 a suitable clutch-such, for instance, as that shown in said patentwhich may be engaged at times intermittingly with a cooperating clutch part which is rotated continuously. Theshaft e is rotated once and then stopped, the rotation of the shaft being controlled either by a manual operation or by the operation, say, of some moving part of a heel-nailing machine, as provided forin United States application, Serial No. 625,873, filed March 3,1897, with which class of heel-nailing machine this assorting apparatus is adapted to be used.

In the mechanism herein shown as embodying my present invention the shaft e, as provided for in said, patent, will carry at its front end a collar having a stud or projection ew, behind which will rest an arm m4. When the arm mL is down in its normal position, it cooperates with the projection ew of the said collar to eect the disengagement of the clutch; but when the said arm on" is elevated to release said projection a spring @12, inside the shaft c, bearing at one end upon a stationary abutment @13, will act to effect the engagement of the clutch, and when the said shaft has completed a rotation the stud or projection of the collar Will act again upon the side of the arm and gradually draw the clutch out of engagement, leaving the shaft e at rest. This clutch part herein referred to is not herein fully illustrated, because it is not a part of my present invention.

The framework A has suitable stands A', which receive the journals of a throat A2, herein represented as a piece of metal having a series of passages a arranged side by side, a passage for each raceway-groove. (Shown in Fig. 4.) Said passages are separated bythe wallsm. (Shown in full lines in Figll.) The throat has extended from it a rod a2, upon which is adjustably lmounted a collar a3, adapted to be held in adjusted position by a set-screw a4. This collar has securedto it by screw a2 an adjustable gage a6, shown as provided with an upturned lip standing transversely of the ends of the raceWay-grooves, the said gage being adjustable toward and from the end pieces h of the raceways, according to the length of nail being used. The throat A2 is hereinl shown as provided at its upper edge, alongside the said series of passages a, with a dovetailed groove, (see Fig. 4,) which receives a correspondingly-shaped tongue projecting from the under side of a stop or slide bar b, (shown in Figs. l and 4 and partially in Figs. 2 and 3,) having a series of upright projections h', with notches or spaces b2 between said projections, the edge or face of said stop at its side toward the ends of the raceways or their grooves having a series of rests b3, (shown in Figs. l and 4,) said rests having between them spaces b4. (Shown in dotted lines in Fig. l and in full lines in Fig. 6.) This stop has, as shown, a screw stud or pin b5, (see Fig. 5,) against which acts one end of a spring b, arranged in a pocket in the throat A2. This spring acts normally against said stud to keep the stop l) pressed toward the left, (viewing Figs. l and 5,) with the said pin h5 against a slide rod or pin bl, the end of which is exposed at the end of the throat, andin this normal condition of the stop the rests b2 stand in line with the passages a and with thegrooves in the raceway end piece h, the said rest-s standing, preferably, somewhat below the level of the bottoms of the said grooves, as represented in Figs. l and 4. In this condition of the parts (viewing Fig. l) it will be noticed that the projections b' of the stop stand opposite the grooves of the end piece z., so that all the nails leaving the end piece h are stopped by the projections b', and each nail has its head or point supported by one of the rests b2.

Having now, as will be understood, collected in line a series of nails arranged head and point first indiscriminately, with their heads and points lying on the rest b3, to effect the discharge of all the nails into and through the passages a head first I have only to move the stop b to the right, (viewing Figs. l and 2,) and in such movement the rests b3 retire from under the nails, so that the head-first nails, as their heaviest parts are O the raceway, immediately drop by gravity into the passages d underneath them; but the point-first nails remain supported by their heads in the ends of the grooves in the end piece h, and consequently they cannot drop; but as the said stop bis moved to the right the notches therein are brought into line with the grooves of the.`

endA piece 7L, and. therefore the point-first IOO nails slide quickly from the end piece and enter the notches b2 of the stop b, and their points are stopped bythe gage a6, which c on a studc?, extended from the framework. i

Said lever at its upper end is in engagement with the rod bl and has at its lower end a camface c3, adapted to be acted upon by a projection c4 of a lever 04, which when the rod c5 is lifted to enable the pin or projection c4, carried by said lever 04, to meet the arm m4,- before referred to, to start the shaft e, will move the upper end of said lever to the right, (viewing Fig. 2,) sliding the stop bin order that it may operate as described.

The end plate h of the raceway is mounted, as represented, on a bar hw, (see Fig. 4,) which is extendedr across the arm at right angles to the raceway. The under side of this bar k12 has attached to it by suitable screws an apron h, upon which any nails that escape from the raceway may drop, said nails passing from said apron into a box 71,15, connected in suitable manner with the series of main raceways.

One end of the lifter fvhas secured to it by suitable screws e3 (see Figs. l and 3) a plate e4, that carries a stud-screw eX, upon which is mounted a lever c', a spring e2 acting on one end of said lever to normally keep its other end against the screws e3.

On one of the stands A is a headed stud g, surrounded by a springl g. This stud receives upon it a bar-stop g2,.Figs. 3 and 5, and the spring is so connected with said stud that it has a tendency to turn it axially, and with it the bar-stop,'so that the bar-stop when the rod b7 has been acted upon to move the stop b to the right (viewing Fig. l) to effect the discharge of nailsdrops, immediately after the lifter f descends, below the endmost rest of the stop b. The bar-stop holds the stopb in such position until, the lifter f is again raised with anew lot of nails, whereupon the end of the lever e' acted upon by the spring e2 meets the lug g3 of the bar-stop g2 and lifts it in opposition to the spring g. The spring 'h6 may now act t-o restore the stop b into its normal position, so that as the lifter arrives in its elevated position toilet the nails just raised by it pass into the grooves of the end piece 71, the stop will be in position to arrest, as before described, the heads and points of the nails. The nails leaving the passages a of the throat drop into the`tops of the chutes -n and pass out through the tubes n'..

It will be understood that the raceway will have cooperating with it a suitable or usual device for agitating the same, so that the .tendency of the nails in the groovesthereof will always be to travel down the raceway.

lHaving described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-' v e i l. In a nail-assorting apparatus, the following instrumentalities, viz: a Athroat having a rests to support temporarily the heads of those nails which leave the raceways head first, andmeans to move said stop to remove said rests from under the heads of said nails, letting said nails, under the action of gravity, Vdrop 'head iirst into said nail-passages, substantially as described. l 2. In a nail-assorting apparatus, the following instrumentalities, viz: athroatihaving a series of nailpassages, and nailreceiving grooves in alinement with said passages, raceways leading nails into said nail-receiving. grooves, and a stop having a series of grooves,

` move longitudinally under gravity and meet the gage., the heads of such nails leaving the en ds' of the raceways and said nails under the action of gravity entering said nail-passages head first, substantially as described.

3. In anail-assorting apparatus, the following instrumentalities, viz: a throat having a series of nail-passages, a stop having a series iseries of nail-passages, raceways leading nails u vto said passages, and astop having a series of Ioo l of'notches and a series of rests', a raceway having a series of grooves to lead nails into said nail-passages, the heads of those nails leaving the raceway head first coming upon and Vbeing supported by said rests,lthe series of Anails leaving said raceways point rst bearing by their points against said stop be tween its notches, means to move said stop to remove said rests'from under the nails arrested thereby head first, and to bring the notches of said stop opposite the ends of the nails directed point firstto let said n-ails enter said notches, said nails by the act of entering said notches removing their 'heads from the said raceways, thereby permitting their heavier heads, while their, points are ltemporarily supported, to turn down by gravity into the nail-passages, thus eectingthe de A livery of all of said nails through the pas-4 sages of said throat head rst,lsubstantially as described. l

4. In a nail-assorting apparatus, a throatl having a series lof passages, a stop having la series of surfaces cooperating with eachv of n said nail-passages, saidy stop .havingnotches between the said surfaces, means to. move said stop, and a gage to arresty the ends of those nails passing through said notches,s`ub stantially as described.

nos`

mfc i rse 5. In a nail-asserting apparatus, athroat having nail-passages, and a movable stop hav-r ing `projections andrests and notches, saidV Y projections and rests sustaining respectively the points and heads of nails coming to said stop point and head first, combined with means to move said stop to remove the rests from under the heads of nails arranged head rst and bring the notches of said stop opposite the points of the nails arranged point first, whereby the nails arranged head rst no longer supported by said rests drop into said nail-passages and the nails arranged point first slide into said notches so that their heads may preponderate and enable them to drop head iirst into said nail-passages, substantially as described. n

6. In a nail-assortin g mechanism, raceways to receive and guide nails with their heads and points arranged indiscriminately, a device to arrest and sustain temporarily all the nails before they leave the raceways, and means to actua-te said device to deliver all the nails pointing the same Way.

7. Ina nail-assorting mechanism, raceways to receive and guidea series of nails, a series of passage-ways for the reception of said nails, a stop presenting an upright Wall and a laterally-extended notched rest, a portion of said rest normally standing in the upper part of each of said passages to sustain the head ends of the nails passing from the raceways head first, and means to move said stop to put a notch at one side of a rest under the head of the nail that said head may drop through said notch and permit the nail to enter the passage.

8. In a nai1assorting mechanism, raceways to receive and guide a series of nails, a series of passages to receive said nails, a device having a series of projections separated by notches, said projections .normally obstructing the entrance of point-first nails into said passages, and means to move said device to put a notchedpart thereof in line with the points of the nails which rest against said projections and are yet sustained by their head ends in said raceway, permitting the said point-first nails to enter said notches and slide therein sufficiently to enable the head ends of said nails to leave said raceways.

9. In a nail-assorting mechanism, raceways to receive and guide nails with their heads and points arranged indiscriminately, a device to arrest all the nails before they leave the raceways, and means to move said device to allow the head-first nails to drop from the raceways and to allow the point-first nails to travel on said device until their heads leave the raceways.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

CHESTER C.V SMALL.

Witnesses:

Gno. W. GREGORY, MARGARET A. DUNN. 

